automaster

I agree! I had the same thing happen to me at a restataunt and I will never go back. Keeping customers satisfied is the key to success!

Happy Birthday Joe. I hope u have a good one!!

How can i find a good service writer for my shop. Are there any websites or anything that will help me? Will I be better off hiring someone and then train them myself or should they have a background in sales? Any suggestions?

Hey Joe that sounds good, can you send me a sample email. Thanks

Do you recycle your old parts? Rotors, pads, radiators, water pumps, etc? What do other shops do with old parts. Is there a scrap pile in the corner of your shop? We recycle all of our old parts and make money off of them! We recentley scraped all of our metals and it weighed a little over 1000 lbs. We recieved $230 for it. I just wanted to know what other shops do.

Thanks for the info. At my father's shop, we also threaten the customers with the storage fee, but most of the time we usually never charge them. Thanks again!!

Does your shop charge storage fees? If a customer doesn't pick their car up on time, what do you do? Just want to know what other shops do. Thanks!

Congrats and welcome to autoshop owner.com You and I have a lot in common. I am 16 years old and have always dreamed of opening my own shop. My father also has an auto shop that i will be taking over in a few years. I cant wait, but i was wondering what automotive school you went to and how long does it take to become ASE certified. Well Thank You, and Good Luck with the shop!

Hey Joe. I was wondering what you actually do at work. Are you a mechanic, or a service writer? What is it exactly that you do? My dad is everything. he fixes cars, but we only have one other tech. He also talks to the customers. he is a service writer and when im there on saturdays and days off of school, i am also a service writer. i also greet the customers when they walk in. So what do you do, and how many techs. do you have? Thank You!

Hi Joe, i have a question: Do you think there is a good future for the automotive business. I really want to do it but i also want to make good money. Do you think i can make over 150k per year if i open a shop 10 years from now? or will the economy bring down the auto industry? Thank You

Hi Joe, I was just wondering the average salary of your lead tech., and how do you pay your mechanic, also how many mechanics do you have because you have a big shop don't you? How was the expansion? I hope everything went smoothly.

I havent yet shared any of this whith my father but before i found this website i always told him to start advertising a little better. he just made pens and calendars for his customers but im trying to get him to mail cupons to customers. We do have one lift in the shop for brake jobs, and one bottle jack in the pits to lift the cars up. He doesnt want me to become a tech because there isnt really an education to get, but i know there is good money in it. My father isnt really a business man. he is not on top of things. Sometimes i have to remind him to call a customer to pick up their car, or i have to order parts for him. Sometimes we have cars at the shop that are sitting in the parking lot for 2 days before we get started on them. thats not good for the business but we only have one mechanic other than my dad, but my dad needs to concentrate on running the business and answering phones. I keep telling him to hire another mechanic but he says that he cant because when business is slow, he wont be able to pay the mechanics. I havent really shared any of this with my dad but i think i should. it would really help the business out. Thank You--Issa

Good Luck with the expansion.--Issa.

Thank You for your thoughts Joe. You're really helping me out. Everytime i visit this website, i get more interested in cars and the Automotive business. Is your shop nice and comfortable to work in, because my dad's shop is old and it has the pits in the ground instead of lifts, so its very hard to work in. so i think that has something to do whith why he doesn't want me to become a technician. Its only a four bay shop with very little storage room. We're actually looking for a bigger shop but business by us isnt the greatest. its always up and down. this week was very busy for us but last week was slow. Do you have any tips on how to boost up our business. The shop us very small so its hard to stay organized. Do you think that has anything to do with how business is. what are some ways you advertise for your shop? Thank You, Issa

Hi Joe, so do you thing there is money in the automotive field. Is it a good field to get into because i have looked up all types of jobs to see what fits me but none of them seemed right. i always loved cars and loved to work with my hands, so this job fits me perfectly. what kind of education should i get. i want to go to UTI(Universal Technical Institute), but my dad said that they only will teach me the entry level stuff and i already know all the basics and much more. i can diagnose cars with the matco scanners, i can clear codes on cars, i can do brake jobs and a lot more, so i think i should stick with the automotive field. please reply to this so i can hear you opinion. Thank You!

Yes i actually do work with my dad. i am on winter break right now and ive been there everyday monday thru saturday from 8 to 6pm. i also go whenever im off of school, so i am there every saturday. i have learned a lot from him but he doesnt want me to become a tech. but i love doing it. he wants me to go into the medical field but i am not interested in that. do any of you guys recommend this job for me or do you all agree with my dad. thank you

WHICH TOOL BRAND DO YOU PREFER SNAP-ON OR MATCO. WHICH ONE DO YOU THINK LASTS THE LONGEST. I WILL BE GOING TO SCHOOL NEXT YEAR FOR AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR, AND THEN TAKE OVER MY FATHER;S AUTO SHOP, BUT I WANT TO KNOW WHICH TOOL BRAND I SHOULD BUY.

Hi guys. I am new to this website. My name is Issa Dawud and i am 16 years old. My dad has a small 4 bay shop in blue island illinois. I want to take over the business when im older and i want to learn as much as i can from your experiences. Thank You!